Life can be funny sometimes. We had planned to spend this weekend in St. Andrews by the Sea in Canada. However, we ended up in Charlotte, North Carolina and are enjoying a relaxing weekend here. Thank you, Chicago thunderstorms.

Thursday morning in Chicago felt like the world was coming to an end with such heavy rain and thunderstorms. So the below was reality at O’hare airport all day.

As you can see, a lot of late aircrafts, canceled flights and gate changes on there. Needless to say, the airport was a mess.

Be flexible

At 12:30, Elli’s flight to Chicago got canceled, where she would connect with me to Maine. For the last leg, we would drive across Canada. Google Flights became my best friend over the next 30min; seeing what options might be available for Elli to make her way up north, without connecting through Chicago. I searched airports within 3 hours driving, from where she was. Nothing was coming up that would even remotely work and not involve at least a six hour car ride. During this time, I also got a notification that the flight to Maine had been canceled. A quick search showed there were no other flights available on Thursday or Friday. Making it to Canada sounded more and more like an impossible task. Bring on Plan B.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade

We divided tasks: Elli to cancel hotels, spa appointments and rental car. Alex to figure out a way to make it to the vicinity of where Elli was. The thinking was: it would be easier for one of us to make it somewhere then both of us. Some digging later, we decided on Charlotte. I had a confirmed seat at a 9:30pm flight out of Chicago and Elli could just drive there. We found a great hotel in The Ballantyne, review to follow, that met our needs and was available to be booked with points. By 2pm our plans had shifted from being in Canada all weekend to us staying in Charlotte. When doing all this, it helps to prepare yourself. Try to see if you can change things online or in an app.

Pro-tip: Use the app to rebook yourself to avoid long wait times when things go wrong.

When you do have to call, don’t just trust the airline will be able to help you or give you the best option that will work for you. Have the flights ready you want to take and be clear on your request. A little bit of research before will save you a lot of time on the phone if needed.

Be creative

By 6pm, Elli had checked into the hotel and made spa appointments for us. The weekend looked to be quite similar to what we had planned originally. While there was a cost to this, to change canceled flight to a last minute to Charlotte and the hotel was additional points, it was worth it to us. And we are making the best out of an unfortunate situation.

Summary

While all of this threw us one big curveball, and cost us a bit more, we are still having a fantastic time. Being able to relax, get a massage and just hanging by the pool is heaven.

Anyone have similar stories to share?